Detroit Zoo wants kids to be active part of the climate change conversation

As the planet warms, rising sea levels and habitat loss will continue to threaten the survival of plants and animals — and people — worldwide. “We potentially will lose a million species before this century is out,” Kagan said.

The Detroit Zoo aims to educate people on the realities of climate change while reminding them of the many reasons we have to keep fighting for the preservation of our planet. Above, penguins swimming at the zoo's Polk Penguin Conservation Center.

Courtesy of the Detroit Zoological Society

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Stateside's conversation with Ron Kagan

Given the myriad ecological challenges facing our world today, there are plenty of reasons to feel overwhelmed and powerless.

But there are also many people and organizations dedicated to leading community conversations about climate change and conservation through education and example.

The Detroit Zoo, which was named the "Greenest Zoo" in the United States by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2015, has been committed to growing its sustainability initiatives for nearly two decades.

Ron Kagan is the CEO of the Detroit Zoological Society. He says that the Detroit Zoo offers visitors a range of environmentally-minded resources, including their “Shades of Green” guide, which lists some of the ways that people can reduce their daily ecological footprint.

The zoo also features plenty of water bottle refilling stations, a boardwalk made from recycled plastic, and an anerobic digestor that converts animal waste into methane that’s used to power its animal health complex.

Kagan says the zoo's goal is to help its 1.4 million annual visitors understand why sustainability and conservation efforts are important.

“There are lots of great environmental organizations, but very few have direct contact with so many people every year,” Kagan explained. “So for us, it’s both a responsibility and a great opportunity to try to get people to understand [environmental] issues and especially solutions.”

The Polk Penguin Conservation Center, for example, was designed to give zoo goers a taste of Antarctica’s beauty while explaining the ways that climate change is threatening that region.

As visitors leave the center, they’re presented with different actions — like eating fewer animal products, using recycled bags, and conserving electricity — that they can take to help protect the environment.

“[The exhibit] is partly drawing people in to remind them of biophilia — the innate love of nature that humans have — and then trying to encourage them to think about what the impacts are of our daily lives, and the various things we can do to help and minimize the human impact on climate change,” Kagan said.

This post was written by Stateside production assistant Isabella Isaacs-Thomas.

All this week, Michigan Radio's Environment Report will be focusing on climate change and how it's already affecting us in the state of Michigan, and what's expected to change in the future. It's a huge crisis we face now — and that generations to come will face — and it will affect every aspect of our lives, from what we eat, to how we travel, to how we live inside our homes.

Each year in Michigan, billions of gallons of raw or partially treated sewage end up in the state's rivers and eventually in the Great Lakes. That pollution can make people sick. There are two causes. One is poor sewer systems. The second is heavy rains.

Climate change is likely to bring more extreme rainfall and flooding to Michigan. So, flood risk in the next 100 years will probably look very different than in the last. But, much of our infrastructure, like culverts, bridges, and storm drains, is still being designed and built based on the floods of the past.